A review by robin_reads
The Dead and the Dark by Courtney Gould
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Paranormal small town murder mystery. A married gay couple return to their terrible small town in the buttcrack of Oregon with their adopted daughter.
The romance in this felt completely unnecessary and did little to nothing for the plot. I didn't connect with any of the characters and didn't much care what happened to any of them.
The plot surrounding the mystery wasn't bad.
The pacing is weird sometimes--very slow and then time jumps of days and weeks.
Additional CW: Drowning, attempted murder
The romance in this felt completely unnecessary and did little to nothing for the plot. I didn't connect with any of the characters and didn't much care what happened to any of them.
The plot surrounding the mystery wasn't bad.
The pacing is weird sometimes--very slow and then time jumps of days and weeks.
Spoiler
The ending was so weirdly happy and didn't feel like it fit. I get that a Happy Ending is always nice and most people want those but I would've preferred if it ended it a more tentative, maybe almost wary open endingAdditional CW: Drowning, attempted murder
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Hate crime, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, and Murder
Moderate: Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, Blood, Kidnapping, Outing, Toxic friendship, and Violence
Minor: Alcohol